The present invention relates to a user interface method, a display device, and a user interface system for providing a system function and a content which support user's life behavior and in particular, to a user interface, a display device, and a user interface system which enable a user to effectively select a system function and a content according to an attribute and a state of display devices arranged in various places.
Recently, performance of video information devices has been significantly improved and it has become possible to simultaneously record videos of a plenty of broadcast channels for a long time. Moreover, with the spread of digital broadcast, such as the digital terrestrial broadcasting, the number of broadcast channels has been increased and the number of videos provided to a viewer has been almost doubled. As a result, the user should effectively select a favorite video from a plenty of the videos. For this, an electronic program guide (EPG) or table is available as metadata explaining the contents of the video data. The user selects a program to be viewed from the guide. The user can automatically extract a program having a keyword matched with the keyword specified by the user. Furthermore, provided now is a function to support the user to select a program by extracting a keyword, a category of news and sports to which videos belong, the day of the week and the time band which are often specified by the user, from the user selection history.
Moreover, also provided is an application which supports a user behavior around the videos. For example, when recording a video, a physical or symbolic feature of the video data is extracted and an important portion is extracted to be played back according to the feature. Recording devices capable of performing the so-called digest view are available on market. By using the digest view function, it is possible to grasp the content in a short time as compared to the time required for viewing the entire video.
Furthermore, there are often cases when a display device is required for a user behavior support application not directly relating to the broadcast video. The applications are also displayed on the screen used for displaying videos such as a television. For example, in addition to display of a personal computer and a game, by establishing a communication protocol in a device managing the home facilities such as a lamp, it is possible to modify the state display and the operation state of them. In near future, various applications will provide information on the display device for safely and user-friendly supporting various life aspects including ecology (energy saving, resource re-use) and a health care.
On the other hand, the display devices are often installed in respective rooms of a house. Furthermore, there are devices which can be installed in a bathroom and a kitchen. As various apparatuses and devices corresponding to the domestic network are spread, it is expected that the user has more chances to see the display devices while doing something. Moreover, at the place where a display device exists, means for inputting user operations also exists. The operation of various functions using the means will be naturally performed in the daily life.
Considering this, various functions can support user behaviors via a plenty of display devices and input means. However, it will be not easy for the user to rapidly select a desired function or content among the plenty of functions via the plenty of display devices. For this, it is necessary to provide a method for presenting a menu for selecting an appropriate function and a content in accordance with the user's condition.
In order to solve this problem, suggested is a method for patternizing a plurality of functions which have been selected in the past and narrowing a range of functions which may be selected next. For example, JP-A-7-182128 discloses a method for improving the operation efficiency by an operator in the office job by using an operation frequency table concerning a terminal, an operator, a date and time, and a department as conditions of the job selection and creating a menu which displays a job item having a higher probability at the superior position, thereby providing a user-friendly interface.
On the other hand, also suggested is such a method that a server acquires a user ID, a location, and a condition from the terminal operated by a user and compares them to find a content having a matched condition. For example, JP-A-2002-342367 discloses a method for searching information (contents) owned by an information provider and providing it in accordance with the user condition. That is, necessary elements such as a user ID, a time band, a region code (location), a weather and temperature, a behavior category are acquired to search a matched behavior pattern from a behavior pattern DB analyzed and registered in advance. The searched pattern is compared to the content distribution condition so as to select an information content to be provided. Thus, it is possible to select an appropriate content.
However, these conventional techniques have difficulty in displaying a menu for selecting a function and a content for optimizing the behavior (reducing the time required for a target behavior, simultaneously performing viewing and other behavior, and the like) performed normally by the user under so-called ubiquitous display devices at home.
That is, JP-A-182128 has no consideration on the case when operations are performed at home. When operations are performed at home, it is necessary to create a menu specific to home considering the behavior typical to the behaviors at home, i.e., the uneven possibility of function selection caused by the attribute of the room where a display device exists, an uneven possibility of function selection considering the time when the user is present in the room, and protection of privacy when other members of a family or a guest are present.
Moreover, JP-A-20020342367 discloses a content search and content presentation considering the place. However, only data on the vicinity of the place is presented and no attribute of the place is considered. Moreover, the invention of the document has an object to search the information (content) owned by the information provider and provide it to a user according to the user condition, and the invention does not relate to a technique to be used for an ordered display of functions or contents in a menu for helping the selection by the user.